“Time flies
when you’re having fun!” Cliché, I know. But it’s so true! This season has come
and gone so quickly! There is a lot of basketball left to be played, but it’s
rather surreal that we finished up our last regular season home games of
2011-12. We have had so many great moments thus far, but I think last weekend
was definitely a highlight for most of us. We started the weekend by defeating
a very tough team in our league, Illinois State. Not only was this one of our
biggest wins of the season, but we looked pretty dang good doing it in our new
pink uniforms!! We were very grateful for the donations and efforts to make our
PINK OUT a success! The fun continued to roll right on to Sunday. It was
unbelievable to see all the love and support to celebrate our senior, DaNae
Moore. Sokol Arena was full of alumni, family, friends, and fans to cheer DaNae
and the Bluejays on in their last home game. Getting the weekend sweep over
Indiana State was the perfect ending to a great weekend.

I would be
remiss to not say a few words about how much DaNae means to our team and this
university. I’m sure most of you heard her speech and were as impressed as I
was. DaNae is an unbelievable example to all my teammates and I on how to work
hard, be a good teammate, friend, and leader both on and off the court. I think
it is clear how much she means to this team and how much she will be missed
next year. She has had a wonderful career here thus far, but has just enough
time to make some history down in St. Charles!

What I have
on my mind that I really wanted to write about this week is the opportunity for
a second chance... What I love most about competing in the Valley Conference is
two things: 1) the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament by winning the
conference tournament and 2) the chance to play every team twice.

1) Although
we most likely aren’t going to win the regular season conference title, we are
going to feel very confident going into the conference tournament. Besides
Missouri State and Drake, we have beaten every team in the league. (And we
still have the opportunity to beat Drake in a couple weekends!) Coach Flan has
prepared us and coached us to be in a position to win every game this year.
(Maybe besides Notre Dame, but that is a different story.) I have confidence
that he will continue to do so these last two regular season weekends and every
opportunity we get to play in the tournament. I also have confidence that my
teammates and I are going to give everything we have these last three games and
when we lace up and take the court in St. Charles. Anything can happen, and the
opportunity to keep your season alive by winning is very enticing. This team
loves to dance, and what better place to have fun and show off your skills than
the NCAA tournament.

We are super
excited to head to St. Charles, but we don’t want to get too far ahead of
ourselves. Although we may be out of the race for a regular season
championship, the Jays have three big games ahead. If you are like DaNae’s mom
(and think we play perfect all the time), thank you! ;) But I’m assuming most
of you know we don’t play the prettiest basketball at times. Every opportunity
to practice and play a game is another chance for us to get better playing
together and as individuals.

2) Playing a
team twice in one season is very difficult. Most teams know everything about
you the first time you play. They know all your plays, they know each players
offensive tendencies, and they know how to pick apart your defense. If they
don’t have it figured out the first time, they definitely know everything about
you the second time! By this point in the season, you know what flavor bubble
gum they chew, where their tattoos are, and what color nail polish they like.
If you haven’t figured these things out about our team, let me fill you in on
some of our team’s secrets:

Alexis: is
usually found painting her finger nails bright pink just minutes before every
game

Taylor/Sammy/Jordan:
these three are in the running for #1 team nap taker

Riley: you
will not find a more positive or prettier cheerleader in the league

Alyssa: is
by far the best studier on the team!

Sarah: has
taken more elbows to the face than 100 people should take in all their
lifetimes combined

Carli: is
our DJ, dancer, clown, vocalist.. all around team entertainer

McKenzie:
from braids to cuts to coloring, she is responsible for many of our cute
hairdos

Jasmin: she
may be the littlest division 1 basketball player; but don’t be fooled by her
size, she can eat with the best of them

DaNae: has
more nicknames than anyone I know! (donna bear, duns, dwansky, donna the
bluejay… a few of many!)

This past
weekend, we knew everything about Illinois State and they knew everything about
us. Beating Illinois State was sweet for many reasons, but a major reason I
enjoyed the win was getting revenge from the first time we played them. And
even though we got the “W” over UNI the first time we played them, I am very
much looking forward to playing them again on Friday. Falling short one basket
in the conference tournament my freshman year is something that is hard to
forget. Every chance at revenge is very enjoyable, no matter when or to whom. That
is also why we are excited to head to Des Moines in a few weekends to take down
the Bulldogs. That loss at home to them in December was very tough and is one
we would like to have back. Thanks to second chances, we get another
opportunity to hand them a loss on their home court!

You can find
the Jays on FSN Friday night against UNI!

Also, we
would love to see you all in Des Moines and St. Charles!

Love,

Ally J

The faithful
love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His
faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. - Lamentations 3:22-23